The effect of seaweed composite flour on the texturalproperties of dough and bread

Hasmadi Mamat & Patricia Matanjun & Salwa Ibrahim &

Siti Faridah Md. Amin & Mansoor Abdul Hamid &

Ainnur Syafiqa Rameli

Received: 23 May 2013 /Revised and accepted: 4 July 2013# Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Abstract Seaweeds as food and seaweed-derived foodflavors, colors, and nutrients are attracting considerable com-mercial attention. In the baking industries, hydrocolloids areof increasing importance as bread making improvers, wheretheir use aims to improve dough handling properties, in-crease the quality of fresh bread, and extend the shelf lifeof stored bread. Seaweeds contain a significant amount ofsoluble polysaccharides and have the potential function as asource of dietary fiber. In this study, red seaweed(Kappaphycus alvarezii) powder was incorporated (2–8 %)with wheat flour and used to produce bread. The effect ofseaweed composite flour on dough rheological propertiesand the quality of bread was investigated using varioustechniques. Farinograph tests were applied to determine theeffect of seaweed powder on the rheological properties ofwheat flour dough, while texture profile analysis (TPA) wasused to measure the textural properties of dough as well asthe final product. The results showed that the additions ofseaweed powder (2–8 %) increased the water absorption ofthe dough. TPA results showed that the addition of seaweedpowder decreased stickiness properties. Bread producedwith seaweed composite flour showed higher values offirmness.

Keywords Seaweed composite flour . Texture profileanalysis . Bread properties . Dough properties

Introduction

The use of food additives has become a common practice andit is widely used in the baking industry. In the baking indus-try, hydrocolloids are of increasing importance as breadmaking improvers, where their use aims to improve doughhandling properties, increase the quality of fresh bread, andextend the shelf life of stored bread. Hydrocolloids, com-monly named gums, are substances consisting of chain poly-mers, usually with colloidal properties, that in water-basedsystems produce gels, i.e., highly viscous suspensions orsolutions with low dry substance content (Hoefler 2004).Dickinson (2003) defines hydrocolloids as all the polysac-charides that are extracted from plant, seaweeds, and micro-bial sources, as well as gums derived from plant exudates,and modified biopolymers made by the chemical treatmentof cellulose.

High-quality bakery products have various attributes, in-cluding high volume, uniform crumb structure, tenderness,shelf life, and tolerance to staling. Therefore, the quality of afinished bakery product can be influenced by the addition ofsubstances that affect these properties, as hydrocolloids do.These polysaccharides are used in food production as pro-cessing aids to provide dietary fiber or to impart specificfunctional properties to the products. They are able to im-prove food texture, retard starch retrogradation, improvemoisture retention, and enhance the overall quality of theproducts during storage (Stauffer 1990).

Seaweeds contain large amounts of polysaccharides, no-tably cell wall structural polysaccharides that are extractedby the hydrocolloid industry: alginate from brown seaweedsand carrageenans and agar from red seaweeds. Seaweedcontains a significant amount of soluble polysaccharideswhich have a potential as processing aids, provide dietaryfiber, and can be used as significant food additives to per-form specific purposes. The principal commercial seaweedextracts continue to be the three hydrocolloids: agar,

Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article(doi:10.1007/s10811-013-0082-8) contains supplementary material,which is available to authorized users.

H. Mamat (*) : P. Matanjun : S. Ibrahim : S. F. Md. Amin :M. Abdul Hamid :A. S. RameliSchool of Food Science and Nutrition, Universiti Malaysia Sabah,88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysiae-mail: idamsah@ums.edu.my

J Appl PhycolDOI 10.1007/s10811-013-0082-8

alginates, and carrageenans. Seaweeds as food and seaweed-derived food flavors, colors, and nutrients are attractingconsiderable commercial attention. The processed food in-dustry is still the primary market for seaweed hydrocolloids,where they serve as texturing agents and stabilizers.

Several studies have been carried out showing the poten-tial use of seaweed hydrocolloids in the baking industry.Dziezak (1991) found that hydrocolloids can influence therheology and texture of aqueous systems by stabilizingemulsions, suspensions, and foams. Hydrocolloids can mod-ify starch gelatinization (Rojas et al. 1999) and extend theoverall quality of the product over time. In addition, animprovement in wheat dough stability during proofing canbe obtained by the addition of hydrocolloids, such as sodiumalginate and κ-carrageenan (Rosell et al. 2001a). Alginateand its salts have wide applications due to their thickening,emulsifying, gelling, and stabilizing behaviors, in addition totheir capacity to retain water (Draget 2000; Khotimchenkoet al. 2001). The usage levels for alginates are cost-drivenand range between 0.5 and 1.5 % in food applications(Brownlee et al. 2005). Guarda et al. (2004) reported thatalginates showed an anti-staling effect. The ability of algi-nates to decrease the staling rate of bread samples wasattributed to inhibiting interactions between gluten andstarch (Davidou et al. 1996).

Hydrocolloids also modify the pasting properties of starch(Rojas et al. 1999; Rosell et al. 2001a, b). These starchproperties, which include gelatinization temperature, pasteviscosity, and retrogradation of the starch, affect cake bak-ing, the final quality of cakes (Miller and Trimbo 1965), andstaling behavior of baking products (Armero and Collar1996, 1998). Several studies have been carried out showingthe potential use of hydrocolloids in bread making: wheatbread (Guarda et al. 2004; Rosell et al. 2001b), whole wheatbread (Bell 1990), rye bread (Mettler and Seibel 1995),protein-fortified starch bread (Christianson et al. 1974), andfrozen bread dough (Ribotta et al. 2004). The use of hydro-colloids as anti-staling agents in bread has also been studied(Armero and Collar 1996, 1998; Davidou et al. 1996).Hydrocolloids have been used as gluten substitutes in theformulation of gluten-free breads due to their polymericstructure (Ylimaki et al. 1998). The objectives of this studywere to evaluate the effect of seaweed composite flour ondough rheological properties and the quality of bread usingvarious techniques.

Materials and methods

The red seaweed species (Kappaphycus alvarezii) was harvestedfrom Universiti Malaysia Sabah farms in Semporna, Sabah(north coast of North Borneo), Malaysia. Fresh seaweeds werethoroughly washed with distilled water, and their holdfasts and

epiphytes were removed. They were then placed in a freezer(−20 °C) immediately after collection. The seaweed sample wasdried using a cabinet dryer at 40 °C for 24 h. Dried groundseaweed (2, 4, 6, and 8 %) was mixed with wheat flour toproduce bread. The ground sampleswere stored in airtight plasticcontainers and stored at −20 °C for further use. High-proteinwheat flour (14 % protein) and other raw materials for breadproduction were procured from the local market.

Bread making procedure

A straight dough process was carried out to prepare the breadsamples. A basic bread formula, based on flour weight, wasused: 100 g of wheat flour/composite flour, water up to 500Brabender units (BU) consistency, 10 % sugar, 8 % vegetableshortening, 1.2 % dry yeast, and 1.2 % salt. The dough wasoptimally mixed, fermented for 10 min, divided into 450-gpieces, handmolded and sheeted, and then put into tin pans forproofing (RH 85 %) at 38 °C for 90 min. The breads werebaked in an electric oven for 37 min at 190 °C. The breadquality attributes were evaluated after cooling for 2 h at roomtemperature.

Dough rheological characteristics

Farinograph characteristics

Farinograph characteristics were determined according tothe AACC method (AACC 1983). The following parameterswere determined in a Brabender farinograph: water absorp-tion (percentage of water required to yield a dough consis-tency of 500 BU), dough development time (time to reachmaximum consistency), stability (time wherein dough con-sistency is at 500 BU), mixing tolerance index ((MTI) con-sistency difference between height at peak and 5 min later),and elasticity (bandwidth of the curve at the maximumconsistency).

Dough stickiness

Dough stickiness was determined by following the method ofStableMicro System Ltd. (1995) using a texture analyzer (TA-XT2, Stable Micro Systems Ltd., England). Dough wasrounded, sheeted, and molded as in bread making. The doughwas then divided into 5-g pieces for each test. The dough wasplaced into the chamber of a Stable Micro System/Chen–Hoseney dough stickiness cell and then closed with a die byscrewing. After that, it was extruded through the holes on thedie by rotating the internal screw. A sample of this firstextrusion was discarded from the die surface using a spatula.The screw was then rotated once again until a 1-mm height ofdough sample was extruded through the die. The stickiness ofthe dough was determined using an adhesive test at a pre-test

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speed of 2.0 mm s−1, a test speed of 2.0 mm s−1, and a post-testspeed of 10.0 mm s−1 with a 25-mm Perspex cylinder probe.The maximum force reading from the highest positive peak isan indicator of the stickiness of the dough.

Evaluation of bread quality

Loaf volume

Mass and volumeweremeasured 1 h after the removal of breadloaves from the oven. Loaf volume was determined by thesesame seed displacement method, and specific volume wasobtained by dividing the volume by the loaf mass (Sangnarkand Noomhorm 2004).

Crumb color

Color characteristics were studied by measuring lightness (L),redness (a), and yellowness (b) (Fig. 1) using a Minolta CR-400 spectrophotocolorimeter (Konica Minolta Sensing, Inc.,Japan). Each loaf of bread was cut into slices, with each slicebeing 2.5-cm thick. Ten samples were collected from themiddle of each crumb for color measurement. A replicationwas represented by the average of ten samples.

Bread texture

Bread hardness was determined according to the standardmethod published by AACC (Method 74-09 (AACC 1986))using the texture analyzer (TA-XT2). After storage for 1 day,bread slices of standard thickness (1.25 cm) were prepared,and the first two slices of bread from either end were exclud-ed from testing. Two slices of bread were stacked, and theforce required to compress them to 25 % of their height wasmeasured using a 3.5-cm diameter cylindrical probe with apre-test speed of 2 mm s−1, a test speed of 1.7 mm s−1, and apost-test speed of 10 mm s−1. Three measurements per loaffor replication were recorded, and three replications weredone per batch. Each time of measurement was taken, themaximum peak force value was recorded, and the averagewas calculated in force units.

Statistical analysis

Mean and standard deviation (SD) were calculated for eachmeasurement where applicable. All of the tests were carriedout in triplicate. Significant differences were calculatedusing SPSS Windows 6.0.

Results

Farinograph analysis results are summarized in Table 1. Theaddition of 2–8 % seaweed powder to dough formulationssignificantly increased the water required to achieve 500 BU.The water absorption of dough ranged between 58.53 and77.63 %, with the highest amount of seaweed powder show-ing the highest water absorption and vice versa. A similartrend was observed in the development and stability time ofthe dough. These parameter values were increased with theaddition of seaweed powder; however, no significant differ-ence was observed between the means of samples F1, F2, F3,and F4. F5 showed the longest time required for doughdevelopment. The mixing tolerance index of sample F5 (8 %seaweed flour) indicated a maximum value of 105 BU, whilesample F1 (control) showed a minimum tolerance index of 72BU. The tolerance index showed no specific trend, whereasF2 had a higher MTI compared to F3 and F4.Fig. 1 L, a, and b Hunter Lab color solid

Table 1 Farinograph analysisresults of the seaweed bread

Values with the same letters haveno significant difference(p>0.05)

F1 0 %, F2 2 %, F3 4 %, F4 6 %,F5 8 % seaweed powder

Samples Water absorption (at 500 BU) (%) Development time (min) Stability (min) MTI

F1 58.53±0.11 d 8.33±0.35 b 6.73±0.37 c 72.00±3.60 d

F2 65.47±1.62 c 8.56±0.32 b 7.43±0.40 b 103.33±19.29 ac

F3 71.17±0.05 b 8.73±0.28 b 7.20±0.20 b 99.00±10.583 c

F4 76.10±0.26 a 8.77±0.40 b 7.63±0.32 b 95.00±1.00 b

F5 77.63±0.20 a 11.90±0.17 a 11.73±0.37 a 105.00±10.14 a

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The stickiness values are shown in Fig. 2. The resultsobtained showed that the addition of seaweed powderinfluenced the stickiness properties of the dough produced.The stickiness values ranged between 37.55 and 41.52 g.However, no significant difference was observed in any ofthe samples studied (F1–F5). Samples without seaweed pow-der showed the highest adhesion, whereas F1 was significant-ly different from the other samples.

The breads produced with and without seaweed powderare shown in Fig. 3. The crumb L and b values of bread weresignificantly affected by the addition of seaweed flour. Theaverage L values of seaweed bread ranged between 58.02and 45.37. The results showed that the addition of seaweedflour in the formulation decreased the lightness and in-creased the yellowness of the bread crumb obtained.

The volume, firmness, and crumb color of the bread weremeasured to determine the effect of seaweed powder on thequality of the bread produced (Fig. 4, Tables 2 and 3). Thevolume of the breads ranged between 1,114 and 1,527 mL,

with the results showing that the addition of seaweed powderdecreased the volume of the bread produced. F1 was signifi-cantly different from the other samples. The texture profileanalysis results obtained showed that the firmness of the breadincreased over the period of storage, as did the percentage ofseaweed powder used in the formulation. Color analysis resultsshowed that the crumb L and b values of the bread weresignificantly affected by the addition of seaweed flour. Theaverage L values of seaweed bread ranged between 58.02 and45.37. The results showed that the addition of seaweed flourused in the formulation decreased the lightness and increasedthe yellowness of the bread crumb obtained.

Discussion

The rheological characteristics are determined by the qualityof the dough during processing as well as the quality of thefinal product produced. According to Wade (1988), dough

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

F1 F2 F3 F4 F5

Stic

kine

ss (

g)

Sample

a a

a

a

a

Fig. 2 Stickiness properties of the seaweed dough. The same letterdenotes values not significantly different (p>0.05) from the other(n=10)

Fig. 3 Seaweed bread produced with different percentages of seaweedpowder. F1 control, F2 2 % SWF, F3 4 % SWF, F4 6 % SWF, F5 8 %SWF

Table 2 Firmness of the seaweed bread (TPA) during storage

Formulation Day

0 1 2 3 4

F1 284.73±51.52 a 703.10±152.67 a 803.17±74.44 a 1010.01±379.76 a 1026.61±372.07 a

F2 476.35±7.18 bc 1151.60±266.79 a 1042.96±291.35 a 1361.17±376.54 a 1044.88±158.64 b

F3 396.48±31.49 ab 1048.11±150.70 a 1160.03±256.81 a 1534.12±733.30 a 1275.13±257.13 ab

F4 330.15±40.32 ab 1006.73±689.40 a 1007.28±382.07 a 1029.03±334.08 a 1510.07±805.81 ab

F5 587.51±177.15 c 1202.63±478.57 a 1413.34±552.84 a 2020.19±790.21 a 2076.98±740.04 b

Values with the same letters have no significant difference (p>0.05)

F1 0 %, F2 2 %, F3 4 %, F4 6 %, F5 8 % seaweed powder

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that is too firm or too soft will not process satisfactorily on theappropriate dough-forming equipment and will not yield asatisfactory product. A farinograph analysis of flour samplesis summarized in Table 1. The results showed that thefarinograph properties of seaweed composite flours arestrongly dependent on the seaweed content used. Seaweedpowder contributed to the high water-absorbing capacity as itcompeted for water with other constituents. This is in agree-ment with a previous study by other researchers (Friend et al.2003; Rodge et al. 2012). According to Friend et al. (2003),this is due to the hydroxyl groups in the hydrocolloid struc-ture, which allow more water interactions through hydrogenbonding. The addition of seaweed powder also increased thedevelopment and stability time of the dough. Dough stabilityis a measure of the time needed for the curve to stay at orabove 500 BU. The stability value is an indication of flourstrength, with higher values suggesting stronger dough. Mostcommercial bread flours have a stability value of up to 10 min(Mohamed et al. 2006). The mixing tolerance index parameterrepresents the resistivity of wheat flour to the mixing, wherehigher mixing tolerance index values indicate stronger flour.

According to our findings, the addition of seaweed de-creased the stickiness, work of adhesion, and cohesiveness/dough strength. Stickiness is defined as the maximum forcenecessary to overcome the attractive forces between the surfaceof the food and the surface of the probe with which the foodcomes into contact. Gluten fractions have been shown to beimportant determinants of dough stickiness. A gluten networkis only slightly developed for the dough with higher seaweedpowder as compared to the control.

The bread volumes ranged from 1,114 to 1,527 cm3. It canbe seen that the bread density was affected by the amount ofseaweed powder used. The addition of seaweed decreasedthe bulk density of the bread produced. The lowest volumewas obtained for samples with the highest seaweed flourpercentage (F5). There are two factors contributing to thefindings obtained: the ability of hydrocolloids to absorbmore water, which could suppress the amount of steamgenerated, resulting in reduced volume of loaf (Gill et al.2002); and the addition of seaweed powder, which could alsodisrupt the gluten network that contributed to the low expan-sion of the loaf.

Increasing the concentration of seaweed powder impartsbetter color to the crumb. For this reason, crumb color wasmore affected by the protein content: bread with the highestamount of seaweed powder showed the darkest crumb, andthe lowest seaweed powder (F1) had the lightest breadcrumb.

According to AACC (1999), bread firmness is defined asthe force required to compress the crumb at a fixed distanceor to evaluate freshness, defined as the distance that a fixedforce will compress a crumb. Bread firmness results obtainedfrom texture profile analysis showed that crumb firmness ofthe bread increased with the increasing seaweed powder andalso increased with the period of storage. The increase inhardness of the bread crumb may be a consequence of thethickening of the walls surrounding gas cells, as proposed byRosell et al. (2001b). Generally, water promotes starch re-crystallization, and indeed the water content of breads withhigher amounts of seaweed powder was significantly higherthan that of the control (results not presented). Guarda et al.(2004) reported that breads containing hydrocolloids showed

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

F1 F2 F3 F4 F5

Vou

lum

e (m

l)

Sample

c

bb b

a

Fig. 4 Volume of the seaweed breads for each formulation. The sameletter denotes values not significantly different (p>0.05) from the other(n=5)

Table 3 Color analysis resultsof the seaweed bread

Values with the same letters haveno significant difference(p>0.05)

F1 0 %, F2 2 %, F3 4 %, F4 6 %,F5 8 % seaweed powder

Formulation Parameter

Brightness Redness Yellowness

F1 56.09±9.57 ab −0.55±0.79 a 8.33±0.79 a

F2 56.97±5.06 ab −0.99±0.94 a 11.90±0.64 b

F3 58.02±5.44 b −0.97±0.14 a 12.97±0.82 b

F4 50.11±4.37 ab −1.03±0.11 a 11.94±0.46 b

F5 45.37±6.16 a −0.79±0.29 a 12.82±1.35 b

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a lower loss of moisture content after baking due to higherwater retention in the crumb.

In conclusion, seaweed has a great potential to be used asan important ingredient in food processing. This study showedthat seaweed could be used as a part of the ingredients in breadproduction. Up to 8 % of seaweed powder could be used toreplace wheat flour while maintaining the quality of the finalproduct, as compared to bread produced without the use ofseaweed powder. The addition of seaweed powder increasedthe water absorption of the dough and other farinographparameters. In addition, seaweed powder also influenceddough and bread textural properties where stickiness, volume,firmness, and crumb color showed significant impact on thedough and final product, respectively.

Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank the SeaweedResearch Unit, Universiti Malaysia Sabah for awarding this researchgrant.

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